Tether-ball support assembly

ABSTRACT

A tether-ball assembly where an elongated bar is supported at a given elevation above a supporting surface. An elongated flexible tether element is connected to the bar intermediate the ends thereof and has a ball attached thereto distant from the bar. Thus a player on one side of the bar can propel the ball to the other side thereof. The bar together with the structure for supporting it on the supporting surface and the component for attaching the tether to the bar are all capable of being assembled and disassembled without the use of any tools and occupy a small space when disassembled, so that the structure is easy to set up for use and disassembled for storage.

Lolir et a1.

ttes 1 1 1 TlETlHlER-BALL SUPPORT ASSEMBLY [73] Assignee: Louis Marx &(10., Inc., New York,

[22] Filed: June 23, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 265,845

[52] US. Cl. 273/95 A, 273/58 C, 46/28 [51] Int. Cl A631) 71/02 [58]Field of Search 273/95 A, 58 C, 80 B; 46/27, 28, 29

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,772,882 12/1956 Anson273/95 A 3,042,401 7/1962 7 Denegre 273/95 A 3,454,275 7/1969 Pontone273/58 C 3,663,018 5/1972 OLeary 273/58 C 3,649,018 3/1972 Bean .t273/95 A 2,512,725 6/1950 Mock... 1. 46/29 795,960 8/1905 Cook t. 273/58C 3,498,613 3/1970 Dreycr..... 273/95 A 3,583 702 6/1971 Glass .1 273/1M 51 May 7,1974

2,769,636 11/1956 Finestone 273/30 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS386,124 l/1933 Great Britain 273/80 B Primary Examiner-Richard C,Pinkham Assistant Examiner-Marvin Siskind Attorney, Agent, or Firm BlumMoscovitz Friedman & Kaplan [57] ABSTRACT supporting it on thesupporting surface and the component for attaching the tether t0 the barare all capable of being assembled and disassembled without the use ofany tools and occupy a small space when disassembled, so that thestructure is easy to set up for use and disassembled for storage.

9 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The inventionrelates to games.

In particular, the present invention relates to tetherball games.

There are many known games involving the use of a tethered ball, but allof these games suffer from various drawbacks. For example, many of thesegames require special components which must be fixed rigidly to suitablesupports such as walls, floors or the like, in order to be able to usethe tether-ball assembly. Other types of tether-ball games limit thenumber of players which can participate and limit the type of actionwhich can be carried out.

It is primarily for these reasons that tether-ball assemblies are notmore popular, although they do form a potential source of enjoyableexercise.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly a primary object of thepresent invention to provide a tether-ball assembly which will avoid theabove drawbacks.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide atether-ball assembly which can be assembled and disassembled without theuse of any tools and which does not require any fixed attachment to anyrobust supporting surface such as a floor or a wall.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide a tether-ballassembly which can be enjoyably used either by a single player or by asmany as four players, for example.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide a tether-ballassembly which'can be dismantled and stored in an extremely small spacewhile at the same time being capable of being readily set up in a shorttime in any desired location when it is desired to use the tether-ballassembly.

According to the invention, the tether-ball assembly includes anelongated bar means and a support means which supports the bar means ata given elevation above a supporting surface. An attaching means iscarried by the bar means intermediate its ends, and an elongatedflexible tether means is connected at one end to the attaching means tobeattached thereby to the bar means. A ball is connected to the end ofthe flexible tether means distant from the bar means, so that a playeron one side of the bar means can propel the ball to the other sidethereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The invention is illustrated by way ofexample in the accompanying drawings which form part of this applicationand in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective illustration of the tether-ball assembly of theinvention in its assembled condition where it is set up ready for use;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective illustration of the various componentsof the assembly of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary partly sectional longitudinal elevation of thepart of the tether-ball assembly to which the tether is attached;

FIG. 4 is a transverse, fragmentary sectional elevation taken along line4-4 of FIG. 3 in the direction of the arrows at a scale which isenlarged as compared to FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a partly sectional fragmentary top plan view of theintermediate portion of the assembled bar means illustrating theattaching means and part of the tether means attached thereto; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional elevation of the ball of the tether-ball assemblyshowing not only the details of the ball but also how the ball isattached to the tether means.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, thetether-ball assembly 10 of the invention which is illustrated thereinincludes an elongated bar means 12, a support means 14 supporting thebar means 12 in a substantially horizontal attitude at a given distanceabove a given supporting surface, this supporting surface 16 being inthe illustrated example a floor of a room or any suitable ground surfaceon the outside. An attaching means 18 is fixed to the bar means 12intermediate its ends for attaching to the bar means 12 an elongatedflexible tether means 20 a ball 22 is attached to the tether means 20 atits end distant from the bar means 12.

The several components referred to above are shown disassembled fromeach other in the exploded perspective view-of FIG. 2. Thus it is clearfrom FIG. 2 that the bar means 12 is composed of a pair of elongatedhollow tubular bar sections 24a and 24b which may be inexpensivelymanufactured from any suitable well known plastic material, for example.

The support means 14 is composed of a pair of supporting components 26aand 26b which are connected to the opposed ends of the bar means 12 by apair of connecting means 28a and 28b.

The pair of supporting components 26a and 26b are of substantiallytriangular configuration and are integrally formed with the pair ofconnecting means 28a and 28b. Each supporting component and connectingmeans may be integrally molded so as to form a onepiece body of plastic.

Referring in particular to FIGS. 3 and 4, it will be seen that each ofthe components 26a and 261) includes a substantially vertical wall 30connected along its entire preiphery to an inwardly directed flange 32.Along its lower portion this flange as well as the wall 30 are curvedupwardly away from the supporting surface 16. Through this expedient theweight of the bar means 12 is more precisely distributed to the opposedends of the lower portions of the pair of supporting components 26a and26b. The integral connecting means 280 is in the form of an elongatedhollow tube extending through and beyond the space defined by the wall30 in the flange 32. This tube 34 of the connecting means 28a isintegrally formed at its exterior with longitudinally extending ribs 36.These ribs 36 are particularly apparent from FIG. 4 which also shows theenlarged thickened plastic portion 38 where the connecting means 28a isjoined to the wall 30. The connecting means 28b is joined in the sameway to the wall 30 of the component 2612.

Thus, the interior diameters of the pair of bar sections 24a and 24b issuch that they can be slipped onto the pair of connecting means 28a and28b frictionally engaging the ribs 36 so that they have a fairly snugfit on the pair of connecting means. By the use of these ribs the areaof frictional contact between the bar sections and the connecting meansis reduced so that the parts can be more easily assembled anddisassembled.

As isshown most clearly in FIG. 2, the attaching means 18 includes anelongated plastic tubular component 40 having a flanged element 42projecting from its exterior surface. Actually this element is integralwith an interior transverse partition of the elongated element 40. Theelongated portions of element 40 which project in opposite directionsbeyond the flanged element 42 taper so that they can be easily receivedin the open ends of the bar sections 24a and 24b which are directedtoward each other. With the free ends of elongated element 40 receivedin the adjoining ends of elements 24a and 24b, these elements are pushedtogether so that they directly engage the flange element 42, and ofcourse the supporting components 26a and 26b are also pushed toward eachother so that the ends of the bar sections 24a and 24b distant from theattaching means 18 directly engage the thickened portion 38 at the innerend of each connecting means 28a and 28b. Thus, with the parts assembledin this way they will remain in their assembled condition resting verystably on a supporting surface such as the surface 16. This surface 16may be floor or outside ground, as pointed out above. However, it mayalso be the surface of a table, if desired. The pair of components 260and 26b need not be attached in any way'to the surface 16 since theywill remain stably at a desired location simply by resting on thesurface 16, and of course none of the components require any tools orfasteners in their connection and disconnection so that all of the partsare very easy to assemble and disassemble and occupy an extremely smallspace when in the disassembled condition.

The flanged element 42 of the attaching means 18 projects upwardlybeyond the bar means 12, and at this upward projecting portion is formedwith an opening 44 for receiving a hook 46 at one end of a relativelyshort ball chain component terminating at its opposite end in a hooktowhich one end of an elongated flexible elastic narrow strip or tape 48is attached. Thus, these components namely element 48 and the smallflexible hooked element for connecting element 48 to the flange 42 formthe tether means 20.

The end of element 48 distant from the flange 42 is connected by asuitable knot, to a strap :50 which is fixed in any suitable'way, as bygluing, a suitable solvent, or the like, to the exterior surface of theball 52. This ball 52.is made of a suitable plastic, for example, and iscapable of being inflated through a suitable opening by the operator,the opening through which the ball is inflated being held closed by asuitable plug 54, as shown schematically in FIG. 6. Thus, thelightweight inflated ball 52 is readily attached by way of its strap 50to the tether means 20 which in turn is readily attached by way of thehook 46 to the attaching means 18.

The ball 52 while appearing to be of a rather large size neverthelesshas an extremely light weight and in connection with the elasticity ofthe tether element 48 provides an erratic movement each time the ball ispropelled toward one side or the other side of the bar means 12. Thispropelling of the ball may take place by way of suitable bats or tennisrackets, such as the element 58 shown in FIG. 1. With the structure asshown in FIG. 1, it is possible for a single player to use the structuresimply by propelling element 22 up against a wall on the other side ofthe bar means 12 from the bat 58, and the ball 22 will rebound back tothe player who can repeatedly propel the ball in this way toward thewall.

However, it is also possible for another player to be situated on theopposite side of the bar means 12 so that in the manner of a tennis gameit is possible for opposed players to propel the tether ball back andforth over the bar means 12.

In addition, it is possible to play doubles, by having a pair of playerssituated on each side of the bar means 12. Because of the stretchabilityof the component 48 of the tether means 20 when doubles type of playingtakes place the ball 22 will be reliably propelled to a considerabledistance from one to the other of the players with the trajectory of theball being affected in an unexpected manner due to the elasticity ofelement 48, so that in this way a considerable added interest isachieved, contributing greatly to the enjoyment of the game.

When it is desired to store the game, it is a simple matter to slip thepair of sections 24a and 24b from the attaching means 18 and the pair ofsupporting components 26a and 26b, and then all of the parts can bestored in an extremely small space until they are again to be used.

Inasmuch as most of the above components can be made of plastic, thecomponents are extremely inexpensive to manufacture, and the game of theinvention is thus capable of being widely used by a large number ofpeople.

What is claimed is:

1. In a tether-ball assembly, elongated bar means, support meansoperatively connected with said bar means for supporting the latter in agenerally horizontal attitude at an elevation above a given supportingsurface, elongated flexible tether means, including an elongated elasticfilamentary element so that said tether means is stretchable, saidtether means being substantially longer than said elevation, attachingmeans carried by said bar means intermedite the ends thereof forattaching said tether means thereto, and a ball attached to said tethermeans at an end thereof distant from said bar means to rest on saidsurface when not in use so that a player on one side of said bar meanscan propel the ball over said bar means toward the other side of saidbar means to be returned to the player on said one side of said barmeans, said ball carrying a means for releasably attaching said tethermeans thereto, and said ball being a light-weight inflatable ball andhaving an opening through which the ball may be inflated by theoperator, said ball carrying a plug for closing said latter opening.

2. In a tether-ball assembly, elongated bar means, support meansoperatively connected with said bar means for supporting the latter in agenerally horizontal attitude at an elevation above a given supportingsurface, elongated flexible tether means, including an elongated elasticfilamentary element so that said tether means is stretchable, saidtether means being substantially longer than said elevation, attachingmeans carried by said bar means intermediate the ends thereof forattaching said tether means thereto, and a ball attached to said tethermeans at an end thereof distant from said bar means to rest on saidsurface when not in use, so that a player on one side of said bar meanscan propel the ball over said bar means toward the other side of saidbar means to be returned to the player on said one side of said barmeans, said attaching means including a flanged element formed with anopening, said tether means having adjacent said bar means a hook to bereceived in said opening of said flange element.

3. In a tether-ball assembly, elongated bar means, support meansoperatively connected with said bar means for supporting the latter in agenerally horizontal attitude at an elevation above agiven supportingsurface, elongated flexible tether means, including an elongated elasticfilamentary element so that said tether means is stretchable, saidtether means being substantially longer than said elevation, attachingmeans carried by said bar means intermediate the ends thereof forattaching said tether means thereto, and a ball attached to said tethermeans at an end thereof distant from said bar means to rest on saidsurface when not in use, so that a player on one side of said bar meanscan propel the ball over said bar means toward the other side of saidbar means to be returned to the player on said one side of said barmeans, said support means supporting said bar means at said elevationexclusively by resting on said supporting surface without being attachedthereto.

4. The combination of claim 3 and wherein said sup port means includes apair of end support members carrying, respectively, a pair of connectingmeans for releasably connecting said end support members to opposed endsof said bar means. v

5. The combination of claim 4 and wherein said bar means has a pair ofopposed elongated hollow tubular portions at its ends, and saidreleasable connecting means carried by said end support membersincluding a pair of elongated inserts to be received in said tubularends of said bar means.

6. The combination of claim 5 and wherein said end inserts have exteriorlongitudinally extending ribs for reducing the area of frictionalengagement between said bar means and said releasable connecting meanscarried by said end support members.

7. In a tether-ball assembly, elongated bar means, support meansoperatively connected with said bar means for supporting the latter in agenerally horizontal attitude at an elevation above a given supportingsurface, elongated flexible tether means, attaching means carried bysaid bar means intermediate the ends thereof for attaching said tethermeans thereto, and a ball attached to said tether means at an endthereof distant from said bar means, so that a player on one side ofsaid bar means can propel the ball toward the other side of said barmeans to be returned to the player on said one side of said bar means,said support means supporting said bar means at said elevationexclusively by resting on said supporting surface without being attachedthereto, said support means including a pair of end support memberscarrying, respectively, a pair of connecting means for releasablyconnecting said end support members to opposite ends of said bar means,said bar means having a pair of opposed elongated hollow tubularportions at its ends, and said releasable connecting means carried bysaid end support members including a pair of elongated inserts to bereceived in said tubular ends of said bar means, said end inserts havingexterior longitudinally extending ribs for reducing the area offrictional engagement between said bar means and said releasableconnecting means carried by said end support members, said bar meansbeing in the form of an elongated tubular bar split intermediate itsends to form a pair of bar sections, and said attaching means incudingan elongated member having intermediate its ends a flanged attachingelement projecting from said elongated member, said elongated memberbeing insertable on both sides of said attaching. means into said barsections.

8. The combination of claim 7 and wherein said portions of saidelongated member on opposed sides of said attaching means are tapered tofacilitate entry into said bar sections.

9. In a tether-ball assembly, elongated bar means, support meansoperatively connected with said bar means for supporting the latter in agenerally horizontal attitude at an elevation above a given supportingsurface, elongated flexible tether emans, including an elongated elasticfilamentary element so that said tether means is stretchable, saidtether means being substantially longer than said elevation, attachingmeans carried by said bar means intermediate the ends thereof forattaching said tether means thereto, and a ball attached to said tethermeans at an end thereof distant-from said bar means to rest on saidsurface when not in use, so that a player on one side of said bar meanscan propel the ball over said bar means toward the other side of saidbar means to be returned to the player on said one side of said barmeans, said support means, bar means, and attaching means all being madeof components carrying means for releasably assembling and disassemblingsaid components without the use of fasteners while retaining saidcomponents frictionally in an assembled condition with said supportmeans itself resting on said supporting surface without being attachedthereto so that the entire assembly can be set up and broken downwithout requiring the use of tools or without requiring manipulationsfor fastening elements.

1. In a tether-ball assembly, elongated bar means, support meansoperatively connected with said bar means for supporting the latter in agenerally horizontal attitude at an elevation above a given supportingsurface, elongated flexible tether means, including an elongated elasticfilamentary element so that said tether means is stretchable, saidtether means being substantially longer than said elevation, attachingmeans carried by said bar means intermedite the ends thereof forattaching said tether means thereto, and a ball attached to said tethermeans at an end thereof distant from said bar means to rest on saidsurface when not in use so that a player on one side of said bar meanscan propel the ball over said bar means toward the other side of saidbar means to be returned to the player on said one side of said barmeans, said ball carrying a means for releasably attaching said tethermeans thereto, and said ball being a lightweight inflatable ball andhaving an opening through which the ball may be inflated by theoperator, said ball carrying a plug for closing said latter opening. 2.In a tether-ball assembly, elongated bar means, support meansoperatively connected with said bar means for supporting the latter in agenerally horizontal attitude at an elevation above a given supportingsurface, elongated flexible tether means, including an elongated elasticfilamentary element so that said tether means is stretchable, saidtether means being substantially longer than said elevation, attachingmeans carried by said bar means intermediate the ends thereof forattaching said tether means thereto, and a ball attached to said tethermeans at an end thereof distant from said bar means to rest on saidsurface when not in use, so that a player on one side of said bar meanscan propel the ball over said bar means toward the other side of saidbar means to be returned to the player on said one side of said barmeans, said attaching means including a flanged element formed with anopening, said tether means having adjacent said bar means a hook to bereceived in said opening of said flange element.
 3. In a tether-ballassembly, elongated bar means, support means operatively connected withsaid bar means for supporting the latter in a generally horizontalattitude at an elevation above a given supporting surface, elongatedflexible tether means, including an elongated elastic filamentaryelement so that said tether means is stretchable, said tether meansbeing substantially longer than said elevation, attaching means carriedby said bar means intermediate the ends thereof for attaching saidtether means thereto, and a ball attached to said tether means at an endthereof distant from said bar means to rest on said surface when not inuse, so that a player on one side of said bar means can propel the ballover said bar means toward the other side of said bar means to bereturned to the player on said one side of said bar means, said supportmeans supporting said bar means at said elevation exclusively by restingon said supporting surface without being attached thereto.
 4. Thecombination of claim 3 and wherein said support means includes a pair ofend support members carrying, respectively, a pair of connecting meansfor releasably connecting said end support members to opposed ends ofsaid bar means.
 5. The combination of claim 4 and wherein said bar meanshas a pair of opposed elongated hollow tubular portions at its ends, andsaid releasable connecting means carried by said end support membersincluding a pair of elongated inserts to be received in said tubularends of said bar means.
 6. The combination of claim 5 and wherein saidend inserts have exterior longitudinally extending ribs for reducing thearea of frictional engagement between said bar means and said releasableconnecting means carried by said end support members.
 7. In atether-ball assembly, elongated bar means, support means operativelyconnected with said bar means for supporting the latter in a generallyhorizontal attitude at an elevation above a given supporting surface,elongated flexible tether means, attaching means carried by said barmeans intermediate the ends thereof for attaching said tether meansthereto, and a ball attached to said tether means at an end thereofdistant from said bar means, so that a player on one side of said barmeans can propel the ball toward the other side of said bar means to bereturned to the player on said one side of said bar means, said supportmeans supporting said bar means at said elevation exclusively by restingon said supporting surface without being attached thereto, said supportmeans including a pair of end support members carrying, respectively, apair of connecting means for releasably connecting said end supportmembers to opposite ends of said bar means, said bar means having a pairof opposed elongated hollow tubular portions at its ends, and saidreleasable connecting means carried by said end support membersincluding a pair of elongated inserts to be received in said tubularends of said bar means, said end inserts having exterior longitudinallyextending ribs for reducing the area of frictional engagement betweensaid bar means and said releasable connecting means carried by said endsupport members, said bar means being in the form of an elongatedtubular bar split intermediate its ends to form a pair of bar sections,and said attaching means incuding an elongated member havingintermediate its ends a flanged attaching element projecting from saidelongated member, said elongated member being insertable on both sidesof said attaching means into said bar sections.
 8. The combination ofclaim 7 and wherein said portions of said elongated member on opposedsides of said attaching means are tapered to facilitate entry into saidbar sections.
 9. In a tether-ball assembly, elongated bar means, supportmeans operatively connected with said bar means for supporting thelatter in a generally horizontal attitude at an elevation above a givensupporting surface, elongated flexible tether emans, including anelongated elastic filamentary element so that said tether means isstretchable, said tether means being substantially longer than saidelevation, attaching means carried by said bar means intermediate theends thereof for attaching said tether means thereto, and a ballattached to said tether means at an end thereof distant from said barmeans to rest on said surface when not in use, so that a player on oneside of said bar means can propel the ball over said bar means towardthe other side of said bar means to be returned to the player on saidone side of said bar means, said support means, bar means, and attachingmeans all being made of components carrying means for releasablyassembling and disassembling said components without the use offasteners while retaining said components frictionally in an assembledcondition with said support means itself resting on said supportingsurface without being attached thereto so that the entire assembly canbe set up and broken down without requirIng the use of tools or withoutrequiring manipulations for fastening elements.